Robert Pigot was born in London in 1720 and entered the military in 1741. He was sent to Boston in February 1775 as part of the British response to the growing colonial unrest in the region, which was escalating rapidly following events such as the ‘Boston Tea Party’ in December 1773. General Thomas Gage appointed Pigot as Brigadier-General, giving him command of the second brigade of the Boston Garrison. Although Pigot was much decorated in the course of his military service, his finest hour undoubtedly came when he played a leading role in defeating the colonial army at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. This was the first major battle of the American War of Independence and was, in many ways, a David and Goliath contest in which the newly-formed, inexperienced colonial army pitted themselves against the well-seasoned and highly trained British militia. In was during this historic battle that the leader of the colonial forces, Colonel William Prescott, famously ordered, ‘Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes’.

Francis Cotes (1726-1770) was a well-known society portraitist who enjoyed royal patronage. He became director of the Society of Artists in 1765, and was instrumental in establishing the Royal Academy in 1768. His portrait of Robert Pigot was executed c. 1765, when Pigot would have been about 45 years of age. He is depicted in the uniform of a British infantry officer. In early 1765, Pigot was appointed Keeper of St Mawes Castle in Flamouth, Cornwall. Mawes castle is depicted in the background of the portrait, suggesting that it may have been commissioned to commemorate this lucrative appointment. 1765 was also the year of Pigot’s marriage to Anne Johnson and it is possible that his marriage was another motivating factor behind the portrait’s commission.

The portrait has descended within the sitter’s family until the present day and retains its fine, original carved and giltwood Georgian frame.